Kettering man's hilarious apology after breaking dolphin playground ride

He thought he would have a go on the rocking dolphin - but cracked it off the ground
The dolphin in the back of his car and, inset, David rocking back on the rideThe dolphin in the back of his car and, inset, David rocking back on the ride
The dolphin in the back of his car and, inset, David rocking back on the ride

A Kettering man had a whole playground and a council worker in stitches after an enthusiastic go on a ride went terribly wrong.

David Beeby, 32, was at the town's Rockingham Road Pleasure Park on Sunday afternoon (September 12) with his daughter and nephew when he jumped on the rocking dolphin.

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In an attempt to make his nephew laugh he rocked as far back as he could - only to crack the dolphin from the ground.

The dolphin in the park.The dolphin in the park.
The dolphin in the park.

The red-faced dad then had to embarrassingly trudge the broken dolphin to his car in front of an amused audience as he didn't want to leave it for children to potentially have an accident.

And he then had to own up to park managers North Northamptonshire Council - leaving a council employee struggling to contain her laughter on the phone.

David said: "I'm just glad people are seeing the funny side of it."

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After apologising to the council and offering to pay for the damage himself, David went one further and issued a hilarious apology on social media.

In the post, alongside a picture of the dolphin, he said: "To all of the kids I've traumatised I'm sorry, I've got it safe at home and I've already been in contact to let them know how much of a *** I am, it'll be fixed and any cost incurred will be paid by me.

"Bruised ego but I'm glad the lady at the council had a good laugh about it with me and I hope all those who witnessed me breaking the kids toy had a good laugh."

Social media users found it so funny they even offered to set up an online fundraising page to chip in and cover the costs for him.

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But fortunately he won't have to pay a penny after North Northamptonshire Council told him it shouldn't break no matter who went on it.

Dozens of people praised David online for his honesty and told him his post had made their weekend.

One social media user said: "Fair play to you for holding your hands up."

Another joked: "Could’ve been anyone of us. Reckon a few of us adults probably loosened it up before you finished it off."

And another said: "This post made my Sunday."

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David said his brother found it so funny he thinks he has had to take a break from work due to laughing too much.

And he added: "It was a perfect time to teach my daughter that you should always be honest, even if you're extremely embarrassed and just want to go and hide your face.

"Doing the right thing should always be the response. P.s, surprisingly I was sober, I do dumb **** even when I'm not drunk."

Council officers are due to come and collect the dolphin from him today (Tuesday).

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A spokesman for North Northamptonshire Council said: “We appreciate Mr Beeby’s honesty - this was an unfortunate incident and we are grateful that he was not injured.

“Our out of hours team was made aware and officers have been out to make the area safe, with the item of equipment being replaced as soon as possible.

“Safety of park visitors is a priority for the council and our equipment is tested regularly to ensure that it works correctly.”